A debate over gun laws in Idaho has garnered national attention in recent weeks, with police releasing a statement about a supposed gun registry to clear up any confusion, while local gun dealers claimed many of the statements in the press release were false.

The debate concerns questions about what information must be provided by law when buying and selling weapons, who should have access to this information and how these people obtain this information.

Truth vs. Fiction: There is great confusion in Twin Falls over the gun registry

The debate reached its peak last Thursday, August 22, when Twin Falls Police Chief Craig S. Kingsbury released a statement clarifying “false and misleading social media posts regarding our intent to create a gun registry.”

The statement details the discussions and meetings with the community that took place on this issue. The entire statement can be read on the City of Twin Falls website and social media.

As of now, no change to the city code has been formally proposed, according to the statement. Below are links to the Twin Falls city code and Leads Online.

Following the TFPD press release, Daniel Corsini, the owner of local gun shop Quick Response Firearms, took to social media to comment on the issue. QRF is owned and operated by veterans. In a post, he made it clear that he supports the police and that the problem here comes from “their senior leadership.” In the comment, posted under the police press release and an 18-minute video on their Facebook page, QRF addresses all of the key points that they feel are either incorrect, misrepresented, or ignored.

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The question of whether this is a “gun registry” debate or simply a tool to assist law enforcement in Twin Falls has garnered attention across the state and from national sources, including the National Association for Gun Rights on X, Liberty Doll on YouTube, Idaho Dispatch and the community on Facebook.

For information on Idaho gun laws, see Idaho Code 18-3302J(2) and for the Twin Falls Code on record keeping by pawnbrokers and used goods dealers, see Code 3-4-5: Records (C) – which is directed to reporting to LeadsOnline. Leads Online is the website tool used by authorities to retrieve firearms information.